Former trade envoy Paul Scully, who served as a Conservative MP, told Times Radio that during one visit to Bangkok — for the Thai king’s funeral — Andrew “booked out pretty much an entire floor” at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel, at an estimated cost of £50,000.
The new allegations surface as Buckingham Palace reportedly begins formal proceedings to strip Andrew of remaining official titles and evict him from Royal Lodge, his Windsor residence.
Lownie further claimed that Andrew also used his trade envoy position to advance his personal business interests. On one occasion, he reportedly helped his business associate David Rowlands secure a meeting in China and obtain a banking licence in the Middle East.
Despite growing scrutiny, Lownie said there remains a “conspiracy of silence” surrounding Andrew’s decade-long tenure as Trade Envoy, as government files from that period have yet to be released.
Speaking to Sarah Vine before the palace’s latest move against the Duke, Lownie argued that Andrew’s behaviour had brought “disrepute” on the monarchy and that he should have been “thrown under the bus” long ago.
“If there had been proper scrutiny of Andrew during his time as Trade Envoy, some of these problems might not have happened,” he said.
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